Public Attitudes towards Abortion

· P Public attitudes towards abortion poll

MH Half of the public (53%) agree that a woman should not have to continue with her pregnancy if she wants an abortion and fewer than one in five disagree (17%). Agreement has fallen from 65% in 2001 and 63% in 2006.

SSeSeven in ten (70%) believe that it is a woman’s right to choose whether or not she has an abortion while fewer than a fifth (17%) believe that the government has a responsibility to reduce the number of abortions.

· More people agree than disagree (37% compared to 28%) that too many women do not think hard enough before having abortions.

· Around a quarter (23%) feel that it should be more difficult for women to obtain abortions, whilst just under half (46%) disagree.·

Ipsos MORI interviewed a representative quota sample of 953 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain. Ipsos MORI's Capibus vehicle was used for this survey. Interviews were conducted face-to-face in-home between 5th- 11th August 2011 at 156 sampling points across Great Britain. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.